(17) Speak to Aaron and say: No man of your offspring throughout the ages who has a defect shall be qualified to offer the food of his God. (18) No one at all who has a defect shall be qualified: no man who is blind, or lame, or has a limb too short or too long; (19) no man who has a broken leg or a broken arm; (20) or who is a hunchback, or a dwarf, or who has a growth in his eye, or who has a boil-scar, or scurvy, or crushed testes. (21) No man among the offspring of Aaron the priest who has a defect shall be qualified to offer God’s offering by fire; having a defect, he shall not be qualified to offer the food of his God. (22) He may eat of the food of his God, of the most holy as well as of the holy; (23) but he shall not enter behind the curtain or come near the altar, for he has a defect. He shall not profane these places sacred to Me, for I, Adonai, have sanctified them.
כל איש אשר בו מום NO MAN THAT HAS A BLEMISH… [SHALL COME NEAR] — This prohibition includes all other bodily blemishes [besides those expressly mentioned in verses 18-20].
'כי כל איש וגו, “for any man who is afflicted with a blemish” the Torah lists the reason that such priests may not perform service in the Temple as being that seeing that they represent the whole Jewish community, it would not seem appropriate that this community dispatches blemished people as their representatives at the Court of the King of Kings.
(ל) מי שיש לו מום בפניו או בידיו כגון שהם בוהקניות או עקומות או עקושות לא ישא את כפיו מפני שהעם מסתכלין בו וה"ה למי שיש מומין ברגליו במקום שעולים לדוכן בלא בתי שוקיים וכן מי שרירו יורד על זקנו או שעיניו זולפים דמעות וכן סומא באחד מעיניו לא ישא את כפיו ואם הי' דש בעירו דהיינו שהם רגילים בו ומכירין הכל שיש בו אותו מום ישא כפיו ואפי' הוא סומא בשתי עיניו וכל ששהא בעיר שלשי' יום מקרי דש בעירו ודוקא בעירו אבל אם הולך באקראי לעיר אחרת ושהא שם שלשים יום לא ואפילו לא בא לדור שם להיות מבני העיר אלא בא להיות שם מלמד או סופר או משרת שנה או חצי שנה חשוב דש בעירו בל' יום:
One who has a deformity on his face or his hands, for example albinism, or deformed or paralyzed [fingers] should not perform the priestly blessing because the congregation will stare at him. And this is also the rule for one who has a deformity on his feet, in a place where they ascend to the platform without socks. And so it is if he has spittle drooling down his beard, or if his eyes tear up. And similarly, one who is blind in one of his eyes should not perform the priestly blessing. However, if he is "broken in" in his city, meaning that they are familiar with him and everyone recognizes that he has this deformity, he may perform the blessing, even if he is blind in both eyes. Anyone who has stayed in the city thirty days is called "broken in in his city," but only in his city — whereas if he goes temporarily to a different city and stays there thirty days, no. Even if he did not come to live in the city to become a resident, but rather to become a schoolteacher or scribe or attendant, for a year or a half-year, this is considered "broken in in his city thirty days."
כְּשֶׁיֵּשׁ שָׁלוֹם בַּעֲצָמָיו, אָז יָכוֹל לְהִתְפַּלֵּל. כִּי עִקַּר הַתְּפִלָּה עַל־יְדֵי הַיִּרְאָה, בִּבְחִינַת (משלי לא): אִשָּׁה יִרְאַת יי הִיא תִתְהַלָּל, כִּי הַתְּפִלָּה בִּמְקוֹם קָרְבָּן, וּבְקָרְבָּן כְּתִיב בֵּהּ (ויקרא כא): כֹּל אֲשֶׁר בּוֹ מוּם לֹא יִקְרָב; וּכְשֶׁאֵין בּוֹ מוּם, הַיְנוּ בְּאַתְרָא דְּאִית דְּחִילָא, אֲזַי יִקְרַב לַעֲבֹד עֲבוֹדָתוֹ תַּמָּה.
Only when a person has inner peace is he able to pray. For the essence of prayer is achieved through fear, corresponding to (Proverbs 31:30), “A woman who fears God, she shall be praised.” This is because prayer is in place of the KoRBan (sacrifice), and of the sacrifice it is written (Leviticus 21:18), “Any man who is blemished shall not yiKRaV (draw close).” But when he is not blemished— that is, “In a place where there is fear” — he can then draw close to offer pure praise to God.